The new multidimensional and user-driven higher education ranking concept of the European Union

Higher education rankings constitute a important but controversial topic due to the methodologies applied in existing rankings and to the use being done of these interpreting their results for purposes which they were not designed for. At present there is no international ranking can responds to the needs of all users and that is methodologically sound by considering the various missions of higher education institutions, mainly due to a narrow focus on research giving less importance to other missions in which higher education institutions can excel beyond research such as teaching quality, knowledge transfer, international orientation, regional engagement etc. The European Commission is currently involved in the implementation of a new higher education ranking methodology, characterised by taking into account a diversity of missions and the diversity of existing higher education institutions. The final aim is to create a tool allowing users to choose the performance indicators of their interest and providing them with a personalised ranking according to their interests. This paper describes the motivation for designing such a tool, the principles of the methodology proposed, as well as the steps foreseen to have it ready for end users by 2014.     

Development of behavioural problems in children adopted from Romania to the Netherlands,after a period of deprivation

A longitudinal study was conducted among 72 Romanian adoptive children (41 boys, 31 girls) in the Netherlands, who, according to the parents and medical records, had all experienced a period of some degree of deprivation before their adoption. The children were on average 2 years and 9 months old at adoption. Parents filled out the Child Behavioural Checklist twice. On average there was little change in scores between the two measurements, and correlations were high. Some children displayed a marked improvement, or worsening of problems. The change in CBCL scores was not related to age or health on arrival into the adoptive family. Children who received special education at the first measurement (31%) improved significantly more on Total Problems than children who didn't. The same applied to professional help, the 46 children (64%) for whom professional help was engaged improved significantly more than the other 26 children. It appears to be effective to engage educational and psychological help for these (severely) deprived children at an early stage.     

Using the Youth Self-Report internalizing syndrome scales among immigrant adolescents: Testing measurement invariance across groups and over time

Although the Youth Self-Report (YSR) has been used in many studies throughout the world, little is known about the equivalence of the factor structure of this instrument for immigrant adolescents. Measurement invariance of the three internalizing syndrome scales of the YSR was tested across four ethnic groups (native Dutch, Surinamese, Turkish, Moroccan) and over time. Results of the present study showed that the scales were invariant across all ethnic groups and over time. Together, the results indicated that the YSR can be used for developmental studies in these immigrant populations.     

Inverse reference in subtraction performance: An analysis from arithmetic word problems

Studies of elementary calculation have shown that adults solve basic subtraction problems faster with problems presented in addition format (e.g., 6?+?_?=?13) than in standard subtraction format (e.g., 13 – 6?=?_). Therefore, it is considered that adults solve subtraction problems by reference to the inverse operation (e.g., for 13 – 6?=?7, “I know that 13 is 6?+?7”) because presenting the subtraction problem in addition format does not require the mental rearrangement of the problem elements into the addition format. In two experiments, we examine whether adults' use of addition to solve subtractions is modulated by the arrangement of minuend and subtrahend, regardless of format. To this end, we used arithmetic word problems since single-digit problems in subtraction format would not allow the subtrahend to appear before the minuend. In Experiment 1, subtractions were presented by arranging minuend and subtrahend according to previous research. In Experiment 2, operands were reversed. The overall results showed that participants benefited from word problems where the subtrahend appears before the minuend, including subtractions in standard subtraction format. These findings add to a growing body of literature that emphasizes the role of inverse reference in adults' performance on subtractions.     

Young Children's Responding to Interparental Conflict: Associations with Marital Aggression and Child Adjustment

We designed this study to examine children's self-reported and observed emotional and behavioral responding to marital conflict as a potential mechanism linking marital physical aggression (as reported by the parents) and children's behavioral adjustment (as reported by their preschool teachers). In a sample of 48 preschoolers, parental marital physical aggression was positively associated with children's observed dysregulated responding to interparental conflict and negatively associated with children's self-reported behavioral disruption. Marital aggression and children's self-reported responding to marital conflict predicted teacher-reported behavior problems, with both variables adding unique variance. Our findings suggested a potential pathway linking exposure to marital conflict, children's regulatory strategies, and children's behavioral adjustment outside the home.     

谈发现心理学问题的辩证思维

科学研究最重要的一步是能否提出有价值的课题。本文根据辩证法的对立统一规律、二分法、事物是普遍联系的、具体问题具体分析,从量变到质变原理,提出了发现心理学问题的五种思路。     

婚姻关系、亲子关系对3～6岁幼儿心理行为问题的影响

采用CBCL量表、自编的婚姻关系和亲子关系问卷调查了6所城市幼儿园的457名3～6岁幼儿,结果发现：(1)本研究中3～6岁幼儿心理行为问题的检出率为15．10％;(2)3-6岁幼儿的心理行为问题主要表现为交往不良、攻击性等外部行为问题;(3)没有心理行为问题的幼儿家庭其婚姻关系在性格相容、问题解决和性生活方面显著优于有心理行为问题的幼儿家庭,但在经济条件方面则相反;(4)婚姻关系和亲子关系则呈显著的正相关,并共同影响幼儿的心理行为问题。     

小学生表征数学应用题策略的实验研究

通过一个2(成功与否)×2(提示与否)×2(题型)的混合实验设计,对小学五年级学生解决和差应用题的表征策略进行了研究.结果表明:(1)与比较应用题的表征相类似,小学生对和差应用题的表征也存在着直译策略和问题模型策略;(2)不成功组解题者在表征和差应用题时倾向于运用直译策略,而成功组的解题者更倾向于运用问题模型策略,这导致了成功者与不成功者在列式上的差异,特别是在不一致题型上表现得更明显;(3)在读题前给以“请注意理解这道题的意思”这样简单的提示,对不成功的解题者对和差问题的正确表征并不能起到作用;(4)成功的和差应用题解题者和不成功的解题者在列式正确性的自我评价上存在显著差异.     

The relationship between children's self-reported recess problems, and peer acceptance and friendships

This study used three samples to investigate the nature of children's self-reported recess problems and the degree to which these were correlated with children's peer acceptance and mutual friendships. Results suggest that seven student complaints about recess can be grouped into problems with peer conflict and problems with social inclusion. Modest relations were reported between inclusion recess problems and children's mutual friendships and peer acceptance. Relations of conflict recess problems with mutual friendships and peer acceptance were less frequent. Results suggest that self-reported recess problems are a distinct construct from traditional research measures of peer acceptance and friendships.